Aaaah, very good, thank you Ron, the enigmatic Kon-Tiki Hotel Phoenix masks and shields, one of the unsolved mysteries of modern Tiki archeology!

I have always wondered if these were just put there as additional set dressing, (because in all other photos I have seen of the Ocean House Hotel they were not there), or they were part of the hotel, but only in use briefly. Both the Ocean House and the Kon Tiki were Tiki themed Hotels.

But most of all I have been dying to find out who the designer was, and if they were available through some leisure industry outfitter. Not only was the Kon Tiki's sign (and logo) done in that style, but the whole front of the lobby was covered in them. (any photos out there?)

Hard to see from the scan, but in the third pic down you can just see the tops of a couple tikis, one just to the left of the stone wall under the palapa and another to the left of the pool. In the movie you catch a breif glimpse of a tiki in front of the lobby driveway. The lobby doors have ships wheels for handles. Not sure what was props and what was part of the hotel. One scene shows an outrigger on the roof.

From the brochure "The OceanHouse cuisine has been acclaimed by world gourmets for the excellence and uniqueness of culinary specialties. This, combined with the Galleon Room's unique atmosphere, makes dining a memorable occaision. Worth a visit all by itself."

"Gasps are the usual response response from a guest's first glimpse of OceanHouse guest rooms. Even these are from another world, for the Del Webb staff of decorators searched the earth for authentic native accessories and seafaring touches to reflect the hotel's overriding nautical theme."

"And while the Tahitian or Oriental motif has come from out of the past, every modern convenience is here for your comfort."

Besides the Galleon Room there was also the Jolly Roger and the Log Room Coffee Shop. In the night shot for the pool area the large tikis are inside the bamboo fence that appears to have a bunch of wood masks or small tikis hanging on it. The painted masks in the movie were by the tennis courts that is not shown (or mentioned) in the brochure.

"the romantic seafaring spirit of the South Seas.......to the spectacular poolside terrace with flaming torches, native palms, and Tiki Gods. IAORANA."

"Gasps are the usual response response from a guest's first glimpse of OceanHouse guest rooms.."

..because the beds had bamboo A-frame head boards!

But what about those masks and shields? C'mon nobody ever seen them anywhere else? And photos of the Phoenix Kon Tiki entrance? That place was torn down as recently as 1994. Where are all the Arizona archaeologists?

Here's a larger shot of some tikis at Del Webb's Ocean House, as they appeared in Jerry Lewis' THE BIG MOUTH (1967). This happens in the middle of a scene on the tennis court, so I assuming this building was adjacent to the tennis courts at the hotel.

This movie is on Antenna TV right now (9:15 a.m. 9/4/11). I didn't catch it at the beginning but I turned on the tv and there was that great wall near the tennis courts. I assume the hotel's been renovated or is gone...which makes me wonder where all those great tikis in the restaurant went as well as the ones near the tennis court. Now I'm stuck watching this ridiculous flick in order to see the decor!
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On 2005-12-07 14:20, bigbrotiki wrote:Regarding the Tiki restaurant interior in this film, it seems to be a stage set: All the Tikis used are of the hollow fiberglass resin type, and the rest of the decor is pretty flimsy too.

And it's worth watching the film for this bit alone :

"Charlie Callas' totally hilarious bit when he sees the appranently dead Sid Valentine (Lewis' other role) come to life again. He comes apart, as do his other friends, but with much more panache and skill. His stuttering, eye-popping gibberish is so funny you have to watch the same dialogue over and over again."

But most of all I have been dying to find out who the designer was, and if they were available through some leisure industry outfitter. Not only was the Kon Tiki's sign (and logo) done in that style, but the whole front of the lobby was covered in them. (any photos out there?)

Glen Guyett is the sign designer for the Kon Tiki Phoenix hotel's sign. Not sure if he designed the masks and shields....

Thank You. My guess is that he designed the actual sign cans using the already existing masks and shields. We still don't know WHO the original designer of THOSE was. They must have been offered by some building supply company to show up in three such distant locations as:

San Diego:

Wichita:

and Phoenix:

Or maybe Glen Guyett did create the sign masks and shields from scratch, the architect liked it, made the masks on the lobby front in their likeness, and then sold the designs to other clients....

Yes those are good possibilities. One thing occurred to me as well: that they were images from a clip art service. Back then they had monthly subscription services, with all kinds of commercial images in them. That might explain the geographical distances?

In any event, I gotta credit local Phoenix researcher Marshall Shore for the info on Glen Guyett. He is in touch with Glen and said he will ask about the origin of the masks.

Well I had the opportunity to ask Glen Guyett about the origin of the Kon Tiki Hotel sign's mask graphics. His reply was that all the artists of the time had a "vault" that they pulled art/ideas from. So his answer, although a bit unclear, was that the graphics were pre-existing. Mr. Guyett is a great artist, and I am positive he could've designed them, but it seems the mystery continues...
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